Secondary or storage battery



(No Model.) i

E. T. 82; E. E. STARR. SECONDARY 0R STORAGE BATTERY.

Patented Sept. 4, 1883.

ANAH@ RSRS IVIRWIBI WiTNESSES.`

l ene Starr By thezr ./torne N. PETERS. Phnlo-Lilhngmpher. vwaslnglun, D. C.

NITRD V STA".rRS

PATENT. OFFICE.

RLI T. STARR AND E. EUGENE STARR7 or RHILADRLRHIA, PA., ASsIeNoRs or oNR-HALR To WILLIAM J. PRYToN, or WASHINGTON, n. e.

SECONDARY ORy STORAGE BATTERY.

SPECIFICATION forming part'of Letters Patent No. 284,577, dated September 4, 1883.

' Application tiled August 10, 1883. (No model.)

To all whom t may concern Be it known thatw e, ELI T. STARR and E. EUGENE STARR, Vof the city and county of Philadelphia, in the State of Pennsylvania,

5. have jointly invented certain new and useful Improvements in Secondary or Storage Batteries, of which the following is a specifica! tion, this application being a division and a continuation of our original application, iiled 1o December 31, 1881.

Our invention relates to the class of batteries for producing or generating electricity known as secondary 7 7 or storage7 7 batteries. These batteries are charged, or put into condition for generating electric currents, by the action of a current of electricity evolved by a generator, and caused to flow through the battery, the 'work of the charging-current being recovered, when desired, by connecting the electrodes of the battery by an electric conductor.

The object of our present invention is to provide an improved secondary or storage battery, and to render more economical, certain, and eifective the results sought to be accomplished by such batteries.

The subject-matter herein claimed is par.

ticularly pointed out at the close of the speciiication. i

In the accompanying drawings, which show our improvements as embodied in the best way now known to us, Figure 1 is a vertical central section through the improved secondary or storage battery. Fig. 2 is a horizontal section therethrough on the line a: x of Fig. l;

3 5 and Fig. y3 is a similar sectional view to that of Fig. 1 through the battery, showing the compound electrodes as separated byv a'porous par- Y tition or diaphragm, and said electrodes without the interposed felt, or other material, be-

tween the parts of said electrodes, which is shown in Fig. 1, in addition to the aforesaid porous partition. l

The body of the vessel or box A of the battery is constructed, preferably, of the oblong rectangular shape shown in the drawings, and

of material which is a non-conductor of electricity-such as glass, hard rubber, or guttapercha. Vhen the vessel A is so constructed,

we preferably strengthen it by a surrounding 5o casing or envelope of some stout material, in

order to give support to the vessel and prowalls or sides of the body of the vessel.

`charging-generator-of greater thickness than tect it during transportation. The open end or top ofthe vessel A is provided with a closely-tting non-conducting lid or'cover, c, y and between the v'edges'of lsaid vessel and said 5 5 lid or cover we interpose a packing material,

Ya. The lidor cover is fastened securely and Vtightly in place, so as to make the chamber of the vessel or box air-tight, and this is done by means of suitable fastening devices shown as 6o consisting in this example of screws a2 passing down through the lid or cover into the By making the battery-vessel air-tight greater ease'and safety in handling is permitted among 65 other advantages.

Vithin the air-tight chamber of the vessel or box are arranged the positive and negative elements or electrodes of the battery, together with the substance (an electrolytic fluid, usu- 7o ally acidulated water) to be acted upon by the charging-current, in order to place the battery in condition to generate electricity when the Vpoles or electrodes of the battery are connected in circuit by'a conductor.

The electrodes preferably consist of lead plates B, the positive and negative plates being, preferably, respectively of different thickness or size; or the positive and negative plates may be of different metal-as, for example, the positive plates may be of lead and the negative plates of palladium. Ve prefer to construct the `positive plates-that is, the plates connected with the positive (-1-) pole of the the negative plates, in order to enable the positive plates to withstand the contortions or changes of shape they are especially liable to undergo during the formation of the battery. The increased durability and strength of the positive plates may be imparted to them in various ways.

The plates B in both the positive and negative series we prefer tobe in the form of sieves, or with holes or depressions made therein. If thin plates are used .s the electrodes, they may be indented or depressed by a-pointed tool, so as merely to stretch the metal without completely perforating it.v Wve prefer, however, this sieve or perforated form of plate, as it affords greater surface to receive the material with which the plate is.

IOO

y struction is highly advantageous, in thatit secoated or supplied, andwhich is to be affected by the charging-current through the decomposition of `the electrolytic liquid of the cell.

We prefer, also, to provide the battery-plates with recesses or Vreceptacles for the reception of the aforesaid `material, which is usually porous when active, and-these Arecesses are` said material maybe applied to the plate to` be effectively acted upon or affectedby the charging-current than if the plate had plain sides or was simply perforated, which concures greater capacity, with the same weight of battery, for the-accumulation or storage" of the energy of the chargingcurrent.- This porous material, or material to be made por-` ous or active, may be red oxide of lead, peroxide of lead, sulphateof lead, peroxide of manganese, or any equivalent thereof, moistened with dilute sulphuric acid, or with a salt in solution, (which does not chemically affect the oxides,) or any equivalent thereof, inorder to form a paste. This paste, so prepared, or the equivalent thereof, is thoroughly mixed or incorporated with fibers` or brousl materialsuch as raw cotton, for example-and is then spread upon the plates B in layers C, the

thickness of which relatively to the-thickness i of the metal-plates may be about as shown in the drawings, but the proportion may ofcourse be varied. The fibers, by reason of their mixture with the oxide or its equivalent, become virtually conductors throughoutl theI entire layer of the oxide, whereby it will be evident that a largely-increased surface of the oxide is presented to the actionof the charging-current, and greater `surface is afforded for -the Vaccumulation of the 4energy of the chargingcurrent. Not only does the fiber act in the highly beneficial manner indicated, but it enables a secondary battery of large capacity -to be produced without-too great weight; and it also acts to bind together the mass composing the active porous material, and also 'to make it cling or adhere to the plate, which -are important features. l

The positive and negative series of plates, (respectively marked b and b,) with their oxide or its equivalent, each constitute a compound battery plate or element, and are separated by a ,'porous partition or plate, D, to constitute a resistance medium, as shown in Figs. 1, 2, and 3, or, in place thereof, a layer of felt, E, or some equivalent thereof, may be interposed between one side of each plate B ofthe compound positive and negative electrodes and their layers of oxide or oxide and fiber, as shown in Figs. l and 2. In said Figs. 1 and 2, for the sake of convenience, we have shown the battery as provided with both the porous partition D and with vthe felt or equivalent `material E; but in Fig. 3 the porous plate or partition alone is shown.

It will be seen that each electrode, in the example shown, is made up of a mass of finelydivided or porous active material held and supportedat its sides between the plates B,

:which plates are not solid, but, on the contrarypermit ready access through them of the electrolytic fluid, and 'also permit the ready action of the accumulating forces upon .the active material. The edges of the active mass, in the example shown, are supported by the non-conducting sides of the batteryvessel'and by the non-conducting frame or floor F', hereinafter described, and such a method of supporting the mass as we have described-to wit., at its side by open platesv and -at its edges by a non-conducting supportis in some cases preferable. Through each mass,

making upthe positive and negative electrodes or elements, we may insert a non-conducting tube, F, which may be of glass or hard rubber, or, in place of thertube, non-conductingstrips may beused to separate each mass,l the prime object of whichv is to carry olf or give comparatively free vent or escape to the surplus gases generated in the battery by the action of the charging-current, which gases, if

not removed, prevent the ready accumulation of the energy of said current.

Art'the lower end of the vessel A, above its bottom, is inserted a perforated plate or frame, F', which constitutes a partition or floor, upon which the interior parts of the battery rest. A space, f, is thus formed between said floor and the bottom of the vessel for a portion of lthe electrolytic fluid of the battery and for the free collection and upward escape of the surplus gases, unopposed by solid matter,

and a like space, f, is formed atthey top of thebattery, between the conducting-plates' and oxide and the cover ofthe battery, for a similar purpose. The spaces or tubes F afford free communication between the top and bottom spaces, f f', of the battery, and the surplus gases from below thus readily escape upward through the liquid of the battery and collect in the top space, and escape through a valve, opening, g, in the lid or cover when the valve G is raised from itsV seat or opened. Said valve Gris automatically operated by the action of the chargingcurrent, said current opening the valve to permit of the escape of the surplus gases which are generated during the charging of the battery, while the valve is automatically closed when the chargingcurrent is cut off or ceases to ilow to the battery. The charging-current flows from the generator or source of electricity to the bat- IOO IIO

tery through a -line-wire, 1, which passes around a soft-iron core, mounted on the top ofthe battery-cover, to form an electro-magnet, H, and is then connectedto a binding-screw, I. VSaid binding-screw is electrically connected with the series of plates constituting the compound positive electrode or element of the 3o cuit for the battery.

storage-battery. The chargingcurrent thus passes through the positive and negative plates, and their layers C of oxide and fiber, or its equivalent, and through the electrolytic 5 uid, or a portion thereof, and causes the chemical action which results in the storage or accumulation of energy by, it is believed, converting` the positive pole or electrode into an oxygen element and the negativepole or electrode into a hydrogen element, and said current then returns .to the generator by way of wire 2. It is evident that as soon as the chargingcurrent begins to ow tothe storage battery, I5 the armature J of the electro-magnet H will be attracted andthe valve G opened by means ofthe pivoted beam j, while, as s`oon as the current is cut off, the valve will be automatically. closed by its Weight, which is greater 2o than that of the armature J. If desired, a

spring may aid in the retraction of the armature in a common manner to return the Valve to its seat to close the vent-opening y. As soon as the battery is sufficiently charged the 2 5 connection with the generator is cut off'.

When it is desired -to generate a current of electricity by the storage-battery, its electrodes are connected by a conductor.- Wires 3 and 4 sufficiently illustrate a working-cir As stated above, this present case is a division, and isfiled in continuation of our original application of December 31, 1881, and is restricted to the subject-matter particularly 3.5 claimed below. All other patentable matter.

-disclosed herein is disclaimed in favor of our said original application of 1881, and divisions thereof, already filed or hereafter to be filed. All patentable subject-matter disclosed herein, not claimed below, is or will be claimed 4o in our said 'original application or in divisions thereof.

We claim herein- 1. A compound element or electrode for secondary batteries, having two or more per- 45 forated and recessed plates, and active material interposed between said plates, substantially as described, whereby said active material is securely retained in place between and upon the plates, while the perforations 5o of said plates facilitate the action of the accumulating forces upon said active material.

2. The combination, in a secondary battery, olf compound electrodes, each having perforated plates of conducting material with 55 active materialheld between them, with a porous partition or mediumbetween saidcompound electrodes, substantially as described.I

3. An electrode having active material supported between, perforated `plates provided 6o with projections or protuberances thereon, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof we have hereunto subscribed our names.

ELI fr. sTARR.

` E. EUGENE STARR.

Witnesses u WM. J. PEY'roN,v J AMEs YoUNG. 

